Modern Era
Destruction of Opium at Humen (1839): Lin Zexu's Stand
More than 1,000 tonnes of opium were destroyed; the confrontation with Britain that followed led to the First Opium War.
Era · c. 1800 – 1945
Modern Era
Industry, science and global conflict: the century and a half that built the modern world.
Modern Era
First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842): The Retreat from Kabul
British failure; the Kabul garrison was destroyed in retreat, and after a punitive campaign Britain withdrew and Dost Mohammad returned to power.
Modern Era
First Opium War (1839-1842): Britain, China and the Opium Trade
British victory; the Treaty of Nanking ceded Hong Kong, opened five treaty ports and began the era of unequal treaties.
Modern Era
Treaty of Nanking (1842): The First of China's Unequal Treaties
China ceded Hong Kong Island, opened five ports, abolished the Cohong and paid 21 million dollars, beginning the era of unequal treaties.
Modern Era
Oregon Trail: The Great Overland Migration to the Northwest
Tens of thousands of settlers reached Oregon, helping the United States secure the Pacific Northwest, at heavy cost to Native nations along the route.
Modern Era
Thames Tunnel (1843): The Brunels' Tunnel Under a Tidal River
London gained the first tunnel known to have been built successfully under a navigable river; it later became part of the city's railway network.
Modern Era
SS Great Britain (1843): Brunel's Iron Screw Steamship
The first large iron-hulled, screw-propelled ocean steamship was launched; it later sailed for decades on the Australia route and survives as a museum ship in Bristol.
Modern Era
Morse Telegraph (1844): 'What Hath God Wrought' and Morse Code
The first long-distance electric telegraph line in the United States proved the system, which spread across the country and became the basis of a worldwide network.
Modern Era
Great Irish Famine (1845-1852): The Potato Blight and Exodus
About one million people died and well over one million emigrated, and Ireland's population fell by roughly a quarter within a decade.
Modern Era
Annexation of Texas (1845): The Lone Star Joins the Union
Texas became the 28th US state on 29 December 1845; Mexico broke off relations, and war followed in 1846.
Modern Era
Joule's Paddle-Wheel Experiment (1845): Heat as Energy
Joule showed that a fixed amount of mechanical work always produces the same amount of heat, undermining the caloric theory and supporting the law of conservation of energy.
Modern Era
Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845-1849): The British Conquest of the Punjab
British victory in both wars; the Sikh Empire was annexed by the East India Company in March 1849.